Purdue a factor as Lafayette No. 1 nationally in latest WSJ/Realtor.com housing index of most affordable markets (Fort Wayne: sales)

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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Think the burgeoning Discovery Park District at Purdue is benefiting only Purdue University?

Not the case. It’s helping grow the Greater Lafayette economy and bringing new jobs, leading to a comparatively affordable housing market and a skilled, technology-based workforce.

Lafayette is ranked No. 1 in the latest Wall Street Journal/Realtor.com Emerging Housing Market Index, winter 2023. Purdue’s presence is a significant factor.

The WSJ/Realtor.com fourth-quarter rankings, released Tuesday (Jan. 31), show Lafayette in the No. 1 spot, followed by two other Indiana communities – Fort Wayne and Elkhart. Topeka, Kansas, and Johnson City, Tennessee, round out the top five.

The index identifies the top metro areas for homebuyers seeking an appreciating housing market, strong local economy and appealing lifestyle amenities, according to the story. News Corp., parent company of the Wall Street Journal, operates Realtor.com.

Working with state and local leaders, Purdue has helped position the university and Greater Lafayette to become a national leader in the semiconductor industry. In December, university and local officials announced a Purdue-led project that will receive $5 million in funding through a Greater Lafayette economic development initiative to support expected regional workforce demand in the promising semiconductor manufacturing industry. In the announcement, Purdue and Greater Lafayette officials revealed the seven regional READI (Indiana’s Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative) projects that would share $30 million in total funding.

The Discovery Park District at Purdue includes the likes of Saab, Rolls-Royce, major facilities and partnerships in hypersonics, Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Wabash, MediaTek and others in the district, among the most attractive and innovative environments in the Midwest.

It all fits with the $1 billion district’s mixed-use development of housing, high-end manufacturing, and industry and research-driven partnerships. The live-work-play community is for families, young professionals and retirees excited about living near a university community and the vibrancy of its culture.

West Lafayette has a No. 8 ranking for the Best College Towns & Cities in America. In compiling its 2022 list, WalletHub gauged 415 communities across three key areas: wallet friendliness, social environment, and academic and economic opportunities.

Purdue has helped lure people to the area through its Work from Purdue initiative, a program inviting people who work remotely to live in Discovery Park District at Purdue for its available affordable housing and the collaborative, invigorating energy of a campus with the flexibility of remote work.

According to the WSJ/Realtor.com story, the December median home-sale price in Tippecanoe County, which includes Lafayette, was $243,000. That was up 13% from a year earlier, according to the Indiana Association of Realtors, but it was still more than $100,000 below the national median existing-home sales price of $366,900 for the same period.